A new process now makes it possible to combine once incompatible materials together. With this process new materials could be made. The process also does not require a higher heat temperature so energy cost would not be high as well.
Researchers at Penn State have developed a new process called Cold Sintering Process (CSP). With this new process, ceramic could be combined with other materials such as plastic in order to create a new composite. Creating ceramic in the past involved high temperatures. With high temperatures comes high cost as well.
The process first involves making ceramic powder wet with either water or an acid solution, as Phys Org reports. This step dissolves the ceramic powder and turns it into a liquid state. Temperature and pressure are then added to make the water flow and make the solid particles rearrange itself.
In the second step, cluster ions are allowed to move away from where they are in contact. This helps in diffusion which in turn minimizes surface energy. Once that is achieved the particles then start to pack more tightly. The key to the process is knowing the exact amount of pressure, moisture and heat needed for it to be successful.
"I see cold sintering process as a continuum of different challenges," Clive Randall, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering said. He along with his team have developed the process. The co-authors of the process include Jing Guo, Hanzheng Guo, Seth Berbano, Amanda Baker and Michael Lanagan.
According to Science Daily, three types of polymer were used to complement the three types of ceramics used. A microwave dielectric, an electrolyte and semiconductor were also used.
The team has also begun to build a library for the process. The library details the exact techniques that CSP could be used for. So far 50 processes have been verified for it. "My hope is that a lot of the manufacturing processes that already exist will be able to use this process," Randall has said.
